Movie Review: The Island (2005)

The movie stars Scarlett Johansson, Ewan McGregor, Sean Bean, Michael Clarke Duncan and Steve Buscemi.

My wife and I were having a quiet Saturday afternoon yesterday and, while the kids were outside playing in the snow, we ended up watching this movie. It wasn't the first time we've seen it. In fact, it was probably the third or fourth. But, it was still as exciting as the first time we saw it.

I don't want to go into too many details about the complex's secret because, if you don't know what is going on at first, it does make the movie even more interesting. However, as far as action films go, this movie has everything.

For me, the best part has to be the fact Lincoln (McGregor) and Jordan (Johansson) have the odds stacked so badly against them. Once they escape, they find themselves in a world they don't understand and have to learn some of the basics, such as the use of money, on the fly. This probably wouldn't be a big deal. But, at the same time, they have a small army chasing them down using every means possible. This does keep the movie from becoming predictable, even after the hidden secrets about who they are and why they were in that complex are revealed.

That secret, by the way, is something that does set this movie apart from other films. Again, I don't want to go into too much detail. But, it's a pretty interesting twist that does honestly make you think about where to draw the line as far as scientific advancement is concerned, especially when it comes to saving human lives.

Probably the only thing about this movie that did make me roll my eyes a bit was the very futuristic world. I know, at the time this movie was made, 2019 was still 14 years away. But, the idea of flying trains and motorcycles did seem a bit extreme for a date that was still relatively close.

This movie became one of our favorite films the first time we watched it and, even though we now know the big secret, we do still enjoy watching it on occasion. I do recommend this movie if you haven't seen it yet.

My Grade: A